Entering Thursday’s match against Wisconsin, Northwestern had a chance to finally climb its way out of last place in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats, who defeated second-to-last place Minnesota on Saturday, had beaten Wisconsin’s Badgers earlier in the year in a 70-67 nail-biter and were looking to sweep the season series. However, this victory seemed far from reach as NU went down 13 in the third quarter.

One improbable comeback later, and the Cats (9-19, 2-15 Big Ten) were nearly tied with Wisconsin (10-19, 5-12 Big Ten) within a quarter. But opportunistic three-pointers and late-game mishaps carried the Badgers to a 64-57 win on NU’s Senior Night.

One look at the box score revealed an evenly matched game with both teams shooting, rebounding and turning the ball over at similar rates. The tape shows more of the same.

The first quarter opened slowly with both squads going a collective 4-of-15 from the field.

Senior guard Laya Hartman, one of two seniors honored before the game, logged her first minutes since December 2022 due to an injury. Hartman started for NU on Thursday and didn’t miss a beat, immediately scoring a fastbreak layup and making a corner three-pointer to curb the deficit. 

“It meant a lot,” Hartman said. “I was excited to get back on the court because it’s been a while. But just feeling the energy of the crowd and just being back in action was really fulfilling.”

After utilizing a full-court press against Minnesota to force 25 turnovers, the Cats turned to their aggressive defensive scheme for the majority of the game. Early on, the Badgers were able to break the pressure, going 4-of-7 on three-point field goals in the first quarter.

Down five entering the second quarter, NU continued its offensive struggles and failed to score a field goal in the first five minutes of the period. 

Wisconsin jumped out on a 9-1 run, but the Cats’ successful trips to the free throw line cut down the lead to six heading into halftime. Despite going 2-of-14 on field goal attempts, NU made 8-of-12 free throws in the quarter.

The first few minutes of the third quarter resembled that of the second quarter. The Badgers went on a 7-0 run to gain a 13-point lead, their largest of the night.

Over the next four minutes, however, the Cats showed resilience in the face of a potential catastrophe. 

It started with graduate guard Sydney Wood’s and-one layup and free throw to cut the lead to 10. Next, sophomore guard Jillian Brown slithered through the lane to make a layup just as the shot clock expired.

After two made free throws from Wood, NU narrowed down the lead to seven. That’s when senior guard Kaylah Rainey –– the shortest player on the team –– gathered her career-high seventh rebound and took the ball coast-to-coast to make an and-one layup at the other end.

“We just knew that we had to pick up the energy, and we knew that they couldn’t hang with us in transition,” Rainey said. “So I just saw the gap, and that was a very energetic run for us.”

The Cats ended up going on a 15-3 run to cut the deficit to just one within minutes. And despite two consecutive Wisconsin three-pointers at the end of the quarter, hopes were still high as NU entered the fourth down by only five.

Once again, the Badgers started the quarter hot with consecutive three-pointers to take an eight-point lead. But the Cats refused to go down.

An 8-0 run, capped by freshman guard Caroline Lau’s running lefty hook shot, tied the game up at 56 apiece with 2:35 left in the quarter. Unfortunately for NU, that’s where the magic stopped.

The Cats failed to make a field goal over the last two minutes, prompting them to intentionally foul the game away.

“It’s frustrating. We were right there. We tied it,” coach Joe McKeown said. “I felt like we got good looks. We just didn’t finish. We turned it over, and you got to put the ball in the basket.”

Wisconsin ended with 28 points off turnovers, a healthy margin over NU’s 17. The Cats also struggled from deep, going 4-of-15 from beyond the arc.

NU will have a chance to rebound in its last regular season game against Nebraska Sunday.

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